


Lurking

by SunKicks



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Gen, Human Experimentation, Kidnapping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trust Issues, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, alternative universe, title and summary may change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunKicks/pseuds/SunKicks
Summary: Shouyou had given up all hope of being rescued, choosing only to rely on himself.Until one day, he’s found.But after having only himself to rely on for so long, Shouyou doesn’t know if he should trust his rescuers or not.•••Or in which a group of kids simply try to survive in an unforgiving world.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Lurking

Yamaguchi was shocked to say the least.

He hadn’t ever expected to be given a solo mission. 

He could still remember the first day he was found.

_Shivering, starving. His ribs were visible and he had lost the youthfulness to his face, his hollow-cheeks aging him._

_He had barely gone out to look for food. The biters terrified him. For the past few months ever since the bong first dropped he had relied on leftovers. Luckily, his parents had a cupboard of canned food. Yamaguchi ate just enough to survive, never enough to feel satisfied. He had to make the most of what he had._

_At times he would hear a scream. These times he’d run upstairs, grabbing an old baseball-bat and hiding in a closet. He would concentrate on the bat, doing anything to distract himself from the screaming outside._

_The bat had two letters engraved in the center. “Y.T”._

_Dried blood remainded in the crevices of this bat, a reminder of the one time he had gone out by himself looking for food. He had had to fend off two lurkers. From then on, he decided against leaving the comfort of him home._

_Soon the screaming would stop. Yamaguchi would then leave his closet. With his bat in tow he’d glance out the window. If the coast was clear, he’d run outside and go through the dead survivor’s things. He only had a few minutes before they turned so he would need to be quick._

_He had once felt disgust at himself for doing thing. Now, he felt nothing._

_He needed to survive, and these survivors often had useful supplies._

_One day, a group of survivors had broken in. They had thought the house was empty, but soon they found Yamaguchi hiding in the closet as he always had._

_A tall blonde with glasses and wrapped fingers, along with a slightly-shorter guy with blue eyes and dark black hair._

_They had offered to bring him back to their base._

_Yamaguchi agreed, and since then,_

_He has never looked back._

He was grateful. Karasuno, the base he stayed at, gave him everything he needed as long as he took up work. He cleaned and even began to practice nursing, studying the health-books scavengers were able to find during a hunt.

But deep inside, he wanted more. He wanted to be strong. He had spent too much time before hiding inside his home. He wanted to fight, and he wanted to fight so hard he would be left with cracked hands and laboring breaths.

His hands were calloused, but not from holding a weapon. They were calloused from holding a mop and broom. Tadashi hated that.

And so he begged the leaders of the base, Daichi and Sugawara. He begged to learn how to fight. He wanted to be useful; he wanted to be strong.

From then on, he had spent hours at times training. Until finally, he was given a solo mission.

He would be raiding a nearby house, looking for supplies. 

It wasn’t a very difficult mission, but it would be his first so Yamaguchi couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Yamaguchi, are you ready?” Sugawara asked kindly. Yamaguchi could sense the worry in his eyes. Sugawara acted like a mom, especially towards Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi wanted to say it was annoying, but in all honesty, he found it endearing. He had lost his mother when the bombs first dropped so he didn’t quite mind having another guardian figure.

“Yes! I have everything Suga, don’t worry,” he smiled, “Thank you for trusting me to go on this mission by myself!” Tadashi bowed deeply.

“Oh, um, about that—“

“Are we leaving yet!?” Suddenly, a tiny figure came rushing through the door, doing a somersault and knocking over a nearby vase in his haste.

He quickly caught the vase, putting it back to it’s orgininal location.

“Noya what did I say about—“

“I know, I know. Stop doing ‘rolling thunders’ near fragile objects,” his sheepish gaze quickly changed to a big grin. “So Yamaguchi! Are you excited to be going on a mission with your senpai!?”

_Wait what?!_

“What! I thought I was going by myself!” 

Suga frowned guiltily.

“Tadashi, on Tanaka’s recent run he discovered a new mob of lurkers nearby the house. We decided to give it some time but the lurkers have not gone away. If anything, they’ve multiplied in numbers. Something seems to be attracting the lurkers to that house.”

“So?”

“What do you mean so? You know the rules of our bass. We do not put each other in danger, we do not leave each-other behind. If you are determined to go on this mission then you will be going with a partner.”

Yamaguchi frowned.

“But I’ve worked so hard. I think I can do okay by myself. And Kageyama goes on runs by himself!”

“You know that Kageyama is a different story. Yamaguchi, have you ever seen Daichi or Tanaka go on runs alone?”

Yamaguchi thought back and could only think of 3 times Daichi or Tanaka had gone solo.

“Hardly.”

“Exactly. Be smart about this Yamaguchi. Even the most efficient fighters will not be able to take on a mob solo. And I know you know this.”

Yamaguchi did know this, was actually very well-aware of it. 

It was just that—

“I just want to be useful.”

“But you—“

“What are you talking about!” Noya’s booming voice suddenly interrupted the two. “You’re the best kouhai a senpai could ask for! You’re already useful!”

“Noya quiet down, half of the base is asleep.”

Nishinoya continued, significantly quieter.

“Let’s do this mission together Yamaguchi, and let’s have fun okay?”

_Only Noya would ever call fighting lurkers to survive fun._

Yamaguchi nodded anyways.

“You two know what to do, right?”

Noya elbowed Yamaguchi’s side, urging him to respond.

“First, clear the area of any lurkers. Then, determine if the house is empty and safe to enter. Finally, take only necessary supplies.”

“Good. I’d also like to add one more objective. Find out what is attracting so many lurkers to that home.”

Yamaguchi and Noya nodded before finally leaving the base.

Noya took a glance at the map in his hands, rotating it in different directions before passing it over to Yamaguchi.

“Here, you read the map.”

“Oh—um. Okay?” Yamaguchi observed the map. It was one of their base’s most useful resources. On it was a map of useful locations, such as hospitals or grocery stores. Areas to avoid were also marked on the map. It had been a collective effort by all of the base, and the map had grown over the years.

They walked in silence for some time. It was strange for Nishinoya to be so quiet, but he seemed content. He looked around the area, taking in his surroundings as if they were just taking a walk around a park, instead of walking to what could be their deaths.

Yamaguchi couldn’t handle the silence any longer.

“Do you know how to read maps?” Yamaguchi asked carefully, not wanting to offend him.

He watched his face for any signs of anger and was shocked to see Noya’s face break out into laughter instead.

“Not at all! Sugawara has tried to teach me so many times, but I just can’t do it. Maybe you can try teaching me Tadashi. You look like you’re good at reading maps and Sugawara yells at me so much.” Noya pretended to shiver, “How can someone who looks so angelic be so cruel?”

Yamaguchi chuckled.

“I don’t think I can teach you. I’m not that good at reading maps either. I only know what my old teachers taught me in school.”

Noya sighed. “Ahh, school. Who even pays attention in class?”

“I did, I was a good student,” Yamaguchi frowned, “I never thought I’d say this, but I miss school.”

Suddenly, the mood took on a somber tone. Yamaguchi couldn’t help but think of all they had lost, and he could tell Nishinoya was thinking the same.

It was depressing.

Before Noya could reply, a cabin came into view. The cabin seemed ancient, the windows were scratched and the wood-planks were rotted. It was large though, much larger than Tadashi had expected. Yamaguchi wasn’t paying any attention to the exterior of the house though.

The mob of lurkers had stolen all of his attention.

Nishinoya held up a finger to his lips, signaling at Yamaguchi to be quiet before taking out his axe. Yamaguchi took out his bat.

Nishinoya held out his fingers, counting down from three.

“HEY DUMBASSES! OVER HERE!” Noya’s loud voice pierced through the air, causing Yamaguchi to jump even though he had been expecting it.

The lurkers began to scream at the sound, making their way over to it.

Yamaguchi would forever be grateful for how slow the lurkers were. He couldn’t imagine being able to fight them if they were fast.

Yamaguchi and Noya both launched at the same time, swinging their weapons effectively. One, by one the lurkers fell, pierced by an axe or bludgeoned by a bat.

At one point, a lurker had snuck up behind Yamaguchi who was too distracted fighting one in front of him to even notice the lurker with his mouth-wide open ready to bite standing behind. 

“YAMAGUCHI!” Noya shouted before stabbing the lurker with his axe at the same time that Yamaguchi had swung his bat at the head of the lurker in-front of him.

Those had been the last lurkers. They stood together, drenched in blood and surrounded by corpses.

Yamaguchi had frozen in shock once he realized how close he had gotten to being bitten. His breaths stuttered in his chest.

_He couldn’t breathe._

“Tadashi, it’s okay, just breathe. You’re safe, it didn’t bite you. Remember, you have your strong senpai with you. I won’t let any lurker hurt you.”

Yamaguchi took deep breaths, listening to Noya’s words. 

Finally, he calmed down and instantly flushed in embarrassment.

“A-ah sorry! I don’t know why—“

“It’s fine,” Noya made eye-contact with Tadashi before smiling reassuringly. “It’s fine,” he repeated once again before pointing at the large cabin, “let’s just go in.”

Yamaguchi nodded and together they walked inside the cabin, being careful as to not step on any fragile planks of wood.

“You can stay down here, and I can look upstairs?” Yamaguchi whispered.

Noya nodded. “Be careful. If you come across anybody or anything remember to stay quiet and to come get me for help. Okay?”

Yamaguchi nodded. Internally he hated being treated like a toddler, but after his close encounter with the lurker outside, he didn’t mind it so much anymore.

An ego meant nothing if you were dead.

Yamaguchi made his way upstairs. As he made his way further on the top-floor a sound suddenly caught his attention.

It was music.

He could hear a music-box. The music stopped for a second, replaced by the sound of cranking before it started up again.

At this point, Yamaguchi should’ve probably gotten Noya.

He most definitely shouldn’t have followed the sound of the music as he did.

He was liked to the end of the hall, following the sound of the music-box coming from the end room.

Finally, he made it outside of the room. The music, though slightly muffled by the door, was clearer than ever. The door was lined from the top to the bottom with locks.

The sight of the locks made his heart drop.

Whoever was in there was not in there by choice.

“Hey,” Yamaguchi whispered through the door.

The music stopped.

“I’ll help you, don’t worry.” Yamaguchi whispered.

There was no response.

Tadashi looked over at the locks. There had to be a key somewhere. 

He looked through the bedrooms, checking underneath every carpet, pillow, and mattress. He scrounged through every drawer until he finally came across a tiny silver key. It had been hidden deep in a drawer, but Yamaguchi was thorough.

He went back to the door, unlocking it with the key. He opened the door slowly, making sure to keep a firm grasp on his bat.

At first he had seen nothing but a music book in the middle of the room. It was absolutely tiny, appearing to be smaller than the size of his palm.

Yamaguchi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

_How had the music-box played with no one in here?_

Yamaguchi could see scratched tally-marks on the wall. His hands shook slightly.

There were so many marks. How long has this room been occupied?

All at once, Yamaguchi noticed a blob of orange underneath the table.

He followed the color and found a boy who looked to be in middle-school. His orange hair was matted and dirty. Yamaguchi could spot strange scars on his arms. They were large and almost reminded Yamaguchi of a bite-mark. He was sitting underneath the table, hunched over with his arms wrapped around his legs.

Yamaguchi kneeled down slowly, dropping his bat and holding out his hand to the boy.

“I won’t hurt you,” he smiled slightly and spoke slowly, not wanting to scare the kid.

The boy crawled out from underneath the table slowly hesitantly holding his hand out as well.

Just when it seemed as if the boy was going to take his hand, he pushed Yamaguchi to the side, grabbing the music box and quickly running out of the room.

Yamaguchi followed after him.

“Wait!”

The boy was quicker than he had expected. He ran down stairs making his way to the front door. The boy opened the front door before slamming it shut a second later.

Another mob of lurkers had returned.

And judging from how starved the boy looked, and the lack of weapons in his hands, he was not prepared to fight anything.

“Yamaguchi! What’s going on! I told you to get me—“ Noya paused at the sight of the kid. “Who is this?” 

“I don’t know, I found him locked in a room upstairs!”

Nishinoya dared to inch closer to the ginger who stayed rooted in his spot. His eyes moved back and forth between Nishinoya and Yamaguchi.

“What’s your name?”

The ginger looked behind him for split-second before returning his gaze to Noya, or more specifically, Noya’s axe.

“Hinata Shouyou,” he muttered quietly. Shouyou pointed at Noya’s axe. “Can I stay with you?” He asked, voice slightly louder. His voice sounded raspy and trembled slightly as he spoke.

Yamaguchi was surprised to hear his question. Shouyou hadn’t trusted him at all at first.

“You want to join us? We’re part of a base. We can bring you to Suga, see if you can stay?” Noya added, speaking calmly as to not spook Shouyou.

Shouyou hesitated slightly, looking behind him one last time before nodding.

Nishinoya smiled.

A sudden groan interrupted the moment and Yamaguchi was reminded of the mob waiting outside for them.

“Nishinoya, the biters! They’re back.”

Noya nodded slightly before smirking.

“They were easy to take down last time. These dumbass biters don’t have anything on us,” Noya chuckled slightly. “Shouyou, stay behind for now. Yamaguch and I will clear the area.”

Yamaguchi held up his bat in response.

He had never felt stronger.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for fun :) So sorry if it’s not the best writing. I don’t think I’ll continue though. Maybe in the future i guess, I want to try to prioritize only one fic at a time
> 
> Ngl, I wrote this after watching a Little Nightmares 2 gameplay. The game inspired this story so there are references to that lol. I just want to buy the game😫


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